King of the Hollows?
by KoiPondOfPeace
Summary: A black-haired Ichigo appears in Hueco Mundo and starts calling a very confused Grimmjow his brother and Ulquiorra his accomplice. Some very weird things are happening to Ichigo. He journeys to the realm of the hollows and is left in shock... Read, enjoy.
1. Chapter 1: Ignorance

**Hello peoples, thanks for viewing my fic. I promise that I'll try not to disappoint you. This is my first Bleach fic that I am posting, so please tell me if I spell anything wrong, it'll be greatly appreciated. Alright then, enjoy the story!**

**Right, the Disclaimer(****): I don't own Bleach, if I did then a lot would be different, like Hichigo being king instead of horse and Mayuri-sama would have all the test subjects he needed, quincy, human, arrancars and more. Hehehe! So no, I really don't own Bleach. It's probably for the best, but boy do I wish I did.**

**King of the Hollows?**

**Chapter 1: Ignorance**

Ichigo felt like he was suffocating. He was being pulled ever deeper down in the water, closer and closer to the black garganta. He swung his zanpakutou, hoping that he'd be able to put Newton's third law of gravity into action. He wanted the powerful attack to free him from the current and propel him upwards, but he had no such luck. Instead, he was just dragged further down, closer and closer to the black hole. He couldn't hold out much longer, his struggling was beginning to get weaker. He gave one last attempt to escape the strong current that was bringing him ever closer to the dark black tear in the lake he was drowning in. It was useless though, he could not break free. Exhausted and completely out of oxygen, the boy's movement ceased.  
As soon as his struggling stopped, he was pulled quickly towards the dark black tear, unsure of where it was going to take him. He silently cursed his luck as the world turned black.

* * *

Eyes opened at the sound of an alarm clock_. Creepy weird dream._ Ichigo sighed as he got up. He began to ponder how his brain could even come up with such odd things. Deciding that it was just another one of those mysteries of life and blaming it on the chocolate that he had had the night before, he began to descend the stairs, on his way down to have a good breakfast before the day of testing.

Yes, the day had come when they all had to take numerous tests that would effect their whole future. It showed if they were where they were supposed to be or not. Ichigo honestly wasn't sure if he was. Kon had been doing his homework for him for the last month while he went out and fought hollows, and occasionally arrancars.

He was worried, but it couldn't be helped. His chest was burning as well, which was odd. He decided to take an Advil for it, not wanting to be distracted today. He was surprised that he was still able to go to school after being absent so many times. Rukia had to have done something to the teachers' minds. Inoue had once said that the teacher had completely excused Chad's, Uryuu's, Rukia's and his absence, simply because he was a "good student and wouldn't be out getting into trouble".

He sighed and finished getting ready for the long day that was ahead of him. Heading out for school, he hoped that he would be able to pass. He didn't care if he got a grade that was the lowest possible grade you could get to be where you should be, just as long as he passed.

After the school day was finally over Ichigo felt like his brain had been fried. Too many tests… And that was only half of them? Was the school board insane? All hope of passing seemed to be lost. He should've just had Kon go. Now time to go out and protect the town of Karakura from unspeakable evil. He gave a half-hearted chuckle at this. The life of a teen, homework, tests, friends, and, oh yeah, fighting people who have died and lost all ties to the earth. Just the normal teen life.

Ichigo shook his head as he got ready to go out and search for souls and hollows. He pulled his Substitute Shinigami badge out of his pocket and pressed it to his chest. He was shocked when nothing happened. He tried again. Still no reaction. He shook it and pressed it to his chest once more. Something was definitely wrong. Seeing no other option, he decided to go to Urahara. He was always able to force Ichigo into shinigami form.

When Ichigo finally arrived at Urahara's shop he sensed the reiatsu of his friends. Renji, Orihime, Toushirou, Matsumoto, Chad, Ishida, and… Rukia were all inside. But wait, what were Toushirou and Matsumoto doing there? Ichigo entered hesitantly.

"Hello?" he called out, even though he knew that people were most definitely in the shop. Jinta appeared from behind the counter with a broom. He dropped it when he saw who had just walked in.

"Hey, orange hair, finally you showed up. Urahara-sama is in the back room with some other people, they said to send you back when you got here."

"Oh, thanks." They were expecting him to come? How come he didn't know that before?

Ichigo walked to the back room and slowly slid the door open. His predictions of who were inside had been correct. It was surprising; normally he sucked at reading reiatsu. "Hello Ichigo, glad you could join us," Urahara-san greeted.

"Yeah… So, what's everyone doing here?"

Toushirou turned towards him from his place of the floor. "There has been a disturbance in Hueco Mundo that needs to undergo investigation."

"Wait, a disturbance in Hueco Mundo? Like a new evil or something? Why does it call for investigation?"

"That's exactly why we're all here. No one knows exactly what it was, but Captain Kurotsuchi thinks it's a tear between dimensions. He says that it looks like there is another dimension that existed harmoniously beside ours, but something has happened to cause that balance to shatter. That is why Soul Society is investigating it, even if it does mean that we have to go to Hueco Mundo. We think it might be Aizen trying to gain the upper hand."

"Oh. Well, why are you here then? Isn't the soul society capable of investigating it?"

"Ichigo, sit down," Urahara offered a cushion in the circle for him to sit on. "This might take a while to explain." Ichigo took his seat and waited for Hitsugaya to continue.

"The Soul Society is currently preparing for something else that is an urgent matter. I have been ordered not to tell you what, but we do not have the necessary amount of officers with enough skill for this mission to complete it and I was sent here to ask you to go to Hueco Mundo to investigate. Of course we would send some of our own high ranked seats with you, but we need your assistance. Will you accept?"

"I… um…" Ichigo had not been expecting to be asked to go to the hollow dimension by the soul society. "When would it be?"

"We'd like to leave as soon as possible, before Aizen can gain the advantage over the situation."

"I see…" Ichigo looked up at his friends. "Are you guys all going?" he asked.

"Yes, we are," Rukia answered.

"Very well, I guess that leaves me no choice. I'll go." It would be good to help him become stronge,r and as long as they stayed away from the espada and completed the mission with no problems, he could get back and maybe feel better than he had been recently. Perhaps it would even cure him of his "I can't save anyone" mindset. So it was decided, they would go to Hueco Mundo. Now for the real problem: why wasn't his badge working?

* * *

Grimmjow was pissed. His fury was so great that he was tempted to fight for a higher espada rank just to blow off some steam. Of course he wouldn't do that because of his reasoning on why the sixth espada was a better rank than all other ranks… At that moment he saw a dark tear in the sky about 32 meters away. Someone was using a garganta, possibly trying to break into Hueco Mundo.  
He sure hoped so. He could really use a good battle. He was disappointed at what he saw come through. There was no way he could fight _that_. He walked closer to the still form on the ground. Water had come through the garganta with him. Out of curiosity, Grimmjow stared at the body. It looked like he was dead...  
Just after the thought, the form began to move, as if to prove him wrong. The person lying on the ground began to cough violently. He spat up water and then collapsed on the ground.  
"Damn portal, sucking my strength," he muttered to himself. Grimmjow figured that the boy wasn't aware of his presence, but he was. He did some sort of acrobatic jump and landed on his feet. He then continued by flipping over the blue-haired espada's head and hitting him on the back of the neck, striking the spinal cord and causing a tingling sensation to spread through his body. He fell to his knees and then on his face in the dirt, unable to move. Now he was really angry. _Who the Hell did this guy think he was and what was up with the acrobatics?_ He looked like he was Ichigo, but Grimmjow couldn't tell. His hair was a dark black and his outfit was totally out of the norm for a shinigami.

"Nice trick. You use a binding spell and send me into the water just so you can suck me through one of Szayel's new devices. Did you seriously think that you could defeat _me_? The ruler of Hueco Mundo? The king of the hollows?" His voice came out in a weird way. It sounded as if it was watery and echoing. Was this really Ichigo? And what on earth was he talking about? Him, the ruler of Hueco Mundo? King of the hollows? Surely he was saying that just to anger Grimmjow. Well, if so, it worked.

The tingling sensation died down and Grimmjow jumped to his feet and turned to face Ichigo. "I don't know what the heck you're talking about, but you've really come here at a bad time." He was _so_ angry now. Nothing could calm his raging temper.

"Oh come now, brother, don't play dumb with me. We both know that you're trying to bring down my kingdom." _Brother? Is he mocking me?_

"Your kingdom? You don't have any kingdom, unless that's what you call Karakura town, in which case I'm not trying to bring it down, Aizen is."

"Nice teammate you are, blame the weakling to get yourself off the hook. You may have fooled Ulquiorra with that, but not me. Plus, Karakura town is Rukia's domain." The dark-haired Ichigo cocked his head to the side when he saw Grimmjow's mask and hollow hole. His eyes narrowed. "This another one of your tricks? Disguising yourself as an arrancar? Like that would work. You could never hide your shinigami reiatsu." Ichigo stuck out his hand as if to feel the reiatsu coming from his opponent. "Hm," he said, putting his hand down. "That's some good disguise. That scientist is getting better and better every day, but you can't trick me."

"What the Hell are you talking about? Disguise? Shinigami? I think you're confused. You're the shinigami, I'm the espada. Numero six." Grimmjow thought about showing him the six on his back, but quickly decided against it since it would put him in a state of vulnerability. Perhaps Ichigo was just trying to distract him so he could defeat him?

"Like you could be espada number six. That would mean that I assigned you the rank _and_ that you defeated Yumichika, like that would ever happen. Not to mention the fact that you were never even a hollow. You got sent to the soul society when you died, unlike me. Are you so stupid that your brain can't even retain basic things like that?"

"You really are whacked. Perhaps I should knock some sense into you?"

"I thought our fight earlier was enough. You can't defeat me. Oh well, if you want to be a glutton for punishment, I guess I have to oblige." With that their fight began. Ichigo was surprised at the way his "brother" was fighting. It certainly was unlike his normal techniques… The fight dragged on; Ichigo was slightly faster than the Espada and that was giving him the advantage.

Grimmjow started to charge a cero and Ichigo stopped and looked at his hand with curiosity. "What? A cero?" That wasn't something you could fake. He barely had time to dodge the attack because he was so awestruck. "But how?" he whispered, still not understanding. _Has Szayel really reached the point where he is able to completely copy an arrancar's abilities? No. No way._

"What, didn't think I could use a cero?" Grimmjow was still confused by the way Ichigo was acting, but the look on his enemies face was priceless.

"So Szayel has become a bigger problem than I previously guessed. That's alright, I'll just have to organize a team to take him out."

"What does any of this have to do with Grantz?" Grimmjow couldn't help but laugh, Ichigo was so messed up. Obviously something had happened to make him think that the whole world had flipped. He didn't wait for an answer, instead he leapt into an attack in which Ichigo easily dodged. He was about to unsheathe Pantera when a beep came from Ichigo. He stopped and stared as the black haired boy pressed the side of his arm where a dark #0 resided and listened to the frequencies that were emitted. "-.-/-/..-/.-. -…/-.-/-/-/…././.-. …./.-/… -…/././-. -.-./.-/..-/-./…./-" (Your brother has been captured).

"What the Hell…" Grimmjow was confused. Was Ichigo's arm going to explode? Ichigo looked at Grimmjow, then back at his arm.

"I really don't know. How can you be here if you're captured?"

"Wait, what?"

"Don't tell me you forgot how to read Morse Code?" he asked. Grimmjow just looked at him with a I-have-no-clue-what-you're-talking-about look. "You know, Morse Code? Dots and dashes representing letters? Like the famous SOS?"

"Never heard of it."

"Seriously? So you didn't know what that message just said?"

"No clue."

"Hm… Interesting."

"Well, are you going to tell me?"

"What? No. Why would I do that?"

Grimmjow just shook his head, wanting to forget about all the nonsense and get back to the fight. "Can we just fight?"

"Fine, but tell me, are you really my brother?"

"What? No, I am not your brother!"

"Oh, then why do you look like him? Your name is Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, right?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"Hm… then why… how?"

"Wouldn't we all love to know?" Grimmjow rolled his eyes and unsheathed Pantera. He jumped at Ichigo and their fight continued. There was much dodging, slashing and shunpoing. At one point in the battle both participants had their swords pressed against each other's necks and they both jumped away from each other.

"You've improved." Grimmjow noted while trying to catch his breath.

"Have I now?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, you're not dying on the ground after we've barely started." Their blades met once again before they both flew backwards due to the force they added.

"Really, all those times you got your butt kicked, you thought I was dying on the ground?"

"No, all those times our battles got interrupted by Ulquiorra I thought that you were dying on the ground. You've never defeated me before."

"Maybe not…" Ichigo said, swinging his sword in an attempt to injure his opponent. "but, I would have… If you weren't always hiding!"

"Me, hide? Yeah, likely excuse." Grimmjow went to give a fatal strike, but the black-haired Ichigo barely dodged it, losing the front half of his shirt in the process. Grimmjow's eyes widened when he saw a hole going straight through Ichigo's chest. His shirt immediately stitched itself back together.

Ichigo grinned. "Thank you Mayuri."

Grimmjow completely ignored the fact that his shirt and came back together all on its own and stared at Ichigo's stomach. "That go with the mask?" he asked.

"What? Oh, my hollow hole? Technically I guess it goes with my mask..."

"You guess?"

"Well yeah, when you become a hollow you have a mask and a hole, so I guess they go together."

"No, not hollows, I mean your mask. The thing you used to fight me with last time we battled."

"I don't recall that. Are you sure it wasn't just a look alike?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. Unless you're not Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Nope, that's my name. Had it since death."

"Wait, since death?"

"Yep, after we died we both changed our last names." Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Why do I have to remind you of everything?"

"But you're not dead, you're a substitute shinigami."

"What? No I'm not! Something very strange is going on..."

"You're just realizing that?"

At that moment Ulquiorra shunpoed between Grimmjow and Ichigo. "Grimmjow, Aizen-sama wishes to speak with you." He turned and looked at Ichigo, whose eyes had lit up when the green-eyed Espada had appeared.

"Ulquiorra, thank goodness you're here."

"Kurosaki Ichigo, what are you doing in Hueco Mundo?"

"What do you mean? I'm the ruler of it."

"He's pretty confused," Grimmjow told the other Espada.

"So I see. You go see Lord Aizen, I'll deal with things here."

"I was in the middle of a fight!" Grimmjow objected.

"Grimmjow."

"Fine."

Ulquiorra stared at Ichigo in interest. "I believe I know what's going on here."

**So, what did you think? Good enough to catch some interests? Anyone want to see it continued? If you do then simply review and tell me! I'll try to update by the end of next week! It would be sooner, but I'm going camping for four days. Ah, poor Grimmjow, so confused. So, did I do alright with names and those things? Is Espada supposed to be capitalized or not? I just capitalized it. Thanks for reading!**

**KoiPondOfPeace**

***)))** (fish)


	2. Chapter 2: Perhaps, Perhaps Not

**Hey everyone! Just got back from camping. Ugh, it was mosquito mania! My souvenirs, bites, bites and more bites. Fabulous, right? I was very happy when I got home and checked my email because I had reviews for this story (much joy)! :D It made me want to update, so that is why you are reading this right now. Thanks so much to my awesome beta reader, Emma Stargaze! You rock!**

**Thank you to: SeishinOkami, figliedellatempesta, phantomx354, and grimm the kitty for your awesome reviews! Thanks figliedellatempesta for answering my question about capitalizing espada, it's greatly appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: No own Bleach. No profits for writing this other than the amazing reviews (but no money profits)! (Remember Mayuri and his need for test subjects! I couldn't own Bleach if he remains without sufficient lab rats)…**

**King of the Hollows?**

**Chapter 2: Perhaps, Perhaps Not**

"Ichigo, what's wrong?" Rukia asked when she saw the worried look on her friend's face.

"My Substitute Shinigami Badge isn't working."

"Are you certain?" she asked. Everyone in the room was now staring at Ichigo in curiosity.

"Positive," he said, pulling it out and pressing it to his chest. He half expected it to work just to spite him, but to his relief and disappointment, it did not.

"Oh. Well isn't that something." Urahara took the badge and examined it.

"Perhaps it's broken?" Orihime suggested, not knowing how things like that worked and trying to be helpful.

"That's what I was thinking; I mean what else could it be?" Ichigo said, half-expecting an answer although it was a rhetorical question.

"This is rather interesting… Renji, would you mind?" Urahara asked, holding the badge out to the red-haired shinigami.

"Fine," he huffed as he took the badge and pressed it to his chest. He immediately burst out of his gigai. "Seems to work for me." He tossed the badge back to the shop owner and climbed back inside his physical body.

"Yes, it appears to be working just fine."

"Then are you saying that it's me that's broken, not it?" Ichigo asked, worry clearly visible in his voice.

"I'm not sure. That's what it seems like, but I can't see how that would be possible." Urahara seemed to be deep in thought for a few moments. "Ichigo, did you participate in a battle that could have put too much of a stain on your spiritual body recently?"

"Not really. Unless you count the fight with the arrancars? Other than that, nope."

"Hmm… Very interesting. The only reason I can think of for your substitute shinigami badge to not be working would be great damage to your spiritual body. So you're sure that you haven't done anything like that recently?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Ichigo said with a slight mocking tone. "I think I would notice something like that."

"Yes, I would think you would. Well then, I fear we must resort to drastic measures," Urahara said, standing up.

"Wait! What?" Ichigo stood as well. Everyone else in the room had their eyes glued on the two immediately, curious and worried of what was going to happen.

"Rukia, would you mind trying to get Ichigo out of his body?"

"Um, sure." Rukia pulled on a little red mitten that was missing the fingers and had a skull on it. She stood up then ran towards Ichigo, grabbing his head and trying to force him out of his body as she had done before. She managed to get him half out before he sling-shot back in, as if he was glued to it.

"Very well then, that leaves me no choice." Urahara grabbed Benihime, his zanpakutou, who was sitting next to him on the ground. He had used it once before on Ichigo. _Why would he say 'that leaves me no choice?' _Ichigo wondered to himself, only to have that question answered in the next second. "Rukia, Renji, would you each please grab one of his arms and hold him still?" Their eyes widened when they realized what he was going to do, but they quickly did as they were told and took hold of Ichigo's arms.

With that, Urahara held his cane-like stick out and thrust it at Ichigo's chest with all his might. Surprisingly it went right through him and the shopkeeper stumbled a bit. Urahara was confused, but he withdrew it and aimed it at the substitute shinigami's head instead. This time his cane did not go through, but rather pushed Ichigo halfway out of his body. Rukia and Renji had trouble trying to hold Ichigo still while the shopkeeper pressed down with all his might. With a thud, Ichigo fell to the floor in his shinigami black kimono.

Rukia laid his body down gently then turned to look at Ichigo. She gasped at the sight and everyone else in the room was frozen. Toshiro's eyes had widened, Matsomoto had her lips shaped in a little 'oh', Urahara was leaning forwards in fascination, Orihime, Chad and Uryuu stayed silent, simply out of shock.

"What the…?" Ichigo asked as he looked down at his chest.

**(Where last chapter left off)**

"_I believe I know what's going on here."_

"Great, would you mind filling me in, 'cause I'm totally at a loss."

"Szayel Aporro Grantz informed me of an atmospheric disturbance. Shortly thereafter, Lord Aizen called an emergency meeting in which all espada except for Grimmjow attended. I will not tell you the information spoken in that meeting, but I will tell you that I believe it was pertaining to you," Ulquiorra said in his usual emotionless voice.

"So what are you saying? The garganta caused an atmospheric disturbance that allowed you to know I was here? Not only that, but Aizen is a lord and can call espada meetings? Not to mention that Grimmjow is an espada. Next thing I know you'll be telling me that you're a shinigami!" Ichigo sighed in defeat, _what had happened? Why was everything so different?_

"Shinigami? No, I am an espada, hence my service to Aizen-sama." Ulquiorra was still looking at the dark haired Ichigo, as if examining him. "Like I said previously, I believe I know what has happened. I watched part of your fight with Grimmjow. I saw enough to know that you are most certainly not the substitute shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo. Your fighting style varies from his greatly and you seem to believe very… _different_ things to be true." The green-eyed espada added a minor emphasis on the word different, making Ichigo narrow his eyes slightly. He then thought about what Ulquiorra had said.

"Substitute shinigami? What is that?"

"A human with shinigami abilities."

"And there's another me who is one of these substitute shinigamis?"

"Yes," Ulquiorra replied simply.

"How is that possible? Did someone get some of my DNA and make a clone of me or something?"

"I don't believe that it's that simple."

"What are you saying, Ulquiorra?"

"You talk to me like I'm an ally of yours. I don't believe that this is the world you are from."

"What? It can't be a different world, there's only one world." What Ulquiorra had said made sense, but the black-haired Ichigo's brain couldn't register something like that. He couldn't accept it, how could that be possible?

"That appears not to be true."

"Well, if what you say is correct and I _am _from a different world than this one, how do I get back to it?"

"I currently do not know, but I am certain that Lord Aizen would wish to meet you."

Ichigo was debating whether or not he should go with the espada. Perhaps… Or perhaps not… His decision ended up being based on the facts that he was confused, had nowhere else to go and trusted the Ulquiorra in his world with his life.

"Very well, take me to this Aizen lord."

"Can you follow me?"

Ichigo smirked, "You have to ask?" Ulquiorra simply nodded, as if saying that he understood and then sonidoed to Las Noches, Ichigo on his heels. They both arrived at the same exact second, proving that Ichigo knew Hueco Mundo very well. Ulquiorra took note of this. The espada led Ichigo through the building, receiving anxious looks from lesser arrancar. They gigantic door Ichigo knew to be the entrance to the throne room.

"Wait here," Ulquiorra told him before entering the room.

Ichigo didn't like to be ordered to do something, but he didn't protest. One of the reasons was he knew that the espada was stronger than him at the time, due to the garganta that had sucked a great deal of his strength. The other was simply because he couldn't even fathom fighting Ulquiorra, his right hand man. So, he waited outside the doors and examined his surroundings. The building most certainly was different than how he had had it. Firstly, everything was white. _His _Las Noches had been a bloody red rather than a bony white. It was so plain. So… _boring. _How could anyone live in a place so utterly blank?

Ichigo was saved from his mind when one of the doors opened and he was beckoned in. He strode through the doorway; head held confidently high, his posture that of royalty. The man sitting in the throne-chair in the middle of the room most certainly looked like the Aizen he knew. The only difference was that his hair was brown rather than blond and he didn't have his glasses.

"Aizen," Ichigo greeted.

"Kurosaki," the brunette responded. "Ulquiorra believes that you are not of this world." He chuckled mentally at the choice of words the Aizen lord had chosen.

"I guess not, if you're ruling Hueco Mundo."

Aizen ignored the comment. "He showed me your fight with Grimmjow. How can you be 'king of the hollows' if you couldn't even defeat espada number six?"

"I'm not one to answer questions, especially not when I have a great deal of my own."

"I think that you'll find yourself wishing to do as I ask, as this is my world, not yours."

"Tch. Yeah, right," Ichigo muttered sarcastically. He saw the brunette Aizen smirk and felt a powerful, familiar reiatsu wash over him. He stared blankly at the man sitting in the throne. Ulquiorra fell to his knees where he had been standing and the smirk faded from Aizen's face and was replaced with a deep frown that quickly changed back to his usual placid expression.

"What's that you're doing? Flaring your reiatsu? Is that supposed to affect me or something?" Ichigo laughed. The shinigami honestly thought that would work? He felt the air lighten and saw Ulquiorra stand up and look at him puzzled.

"How?" the espada asked.

"Like I said, I'm not one to answer questions. I do, however, have some level of respect for your ruler," Ichigo told Ulquiorra with a sly smirk. "Not that I trust him_ in_ the slightest," he added.

"You seem to be very smart. You are welcome to stay here as long as you'd like, but if you wish to go back to your world then I would suggest you answer some questions so that we can _help _you get there."

Ichigo was certain that Aizen was planning on using him to his advantage. That he'd try to gain his trust. He just wasn't sure how he felt about it. Would he want to help the person who had the same role that he did? The other ruler of the hollows? Perhaps, but then again, perhaps not.

**Sorry this chapter is shorter. Hope you enjoyed it. Sorry about the cliffy with our Ichigo. Any ideas of what is wrong with his chest? I wanna see if you'll get it. **

**Reviews?**

**KoiPondOfPeace**


	3. Chapter 3: RealizationBeginnings & Ends

**Hey guys! Finally I found my notebook that had the next chapter in it! There was much joy. I apologize for the lateness. School started and I just got lost in the piles of homework. It took me a while to decide what exactly I was going to do with Ichi's chest. I was debating between two options and I am quite pleased with the one I chose. Tell me what you think about it at the end.**

**Thanks for those who reviewed. This update is for you!**

**Disclaimer: Can you believe it? I can't. For all these years I thought I did... Oh no! How can I not own Bleach? Terribleness! I do not own Bleach and therefore set no claims on it.**

**Chapter 3: Realization**

"_What the..." Ichigo said as he looked down at his chest._

"That most certainly _is _damage to the soul," Urahara commented.

At the top part of Ichigo's chest, right where his kimono made overlapped and left a v-shape, was a relatively big infinity sign. Half of it was black, the other half white.

"What the heck is that?" Ichigo asked, just as confused as the others in the room.

"It appears to be an infinity symbol." After saying that the shopkeeper left the room. Ichigo jumped up and followed him.

"Oi, sandal-hat, where are you going?" The person being pursued stopped dead in his tracks, causing the young substitute shinigami to almost run into him.

"How much do you know about the Hōgyoku?"

"Not much, why?"

"Suppose that whatever caused the atmospheric disturbance in Hueco Mundo was from a different dimension. One that coexisted with our own. It is possible that there could be another Hogyoku is that dimension and if it somehow managed to make its way here... That could be problematic. The balance would be lost. Of course this is just a random theory, but if for whatever reason it was true and then the Hogyoku could affect vizards, such as yourself, and turn you into arrancars..."

"Wait, what? That's a possibility? It's ridiculous. There's no way that would happen!"

"Well, the infinity symbol on your chest says otherwise. That symbol is used in the process of making arrancar. Generally it's only there for a few moments, but this is very different. Of course it could all just be coincidence, but it's the symbol that makes me think naught."

"So what? Are you saying I'm going to turn into an arrancar?"

"Yep, that's what I'm thinking. Better get to Hueco Mundo quickly or we might just have to kill you." Ichigo disliked Urahara's laid-backness on the situation. He could be turning into an arrancar and the shopkeeper just acts like it's nothing special?

"Fine. One question though. Even if we found the problem, would you be able to fix me?"

"That, I do not know."

"Great," the substitute shinigami muttered before turning around to hear the plans about going to Hueco Mundo. He'd be leaving sooner than he though.

_**B.G. (Skip to Las Noches)**_

_Golden eyes met red ones. "He's just confused, we'll be able to save him." A hand brushed softly down a cheek, causing one to pull back._

"_You know that isn't true." Eyes went downcast. "He's one of them now, it'll just be problematic if you __try to save him."_

"_Doesn't mean I can't try." Ichigo stared out one of the many big, open windows in his palace. The moon was shining brightly in the darkness of the eternal night._

_The orange-haired espada looked away. "Can't you send someone else? Anyone else?"_

"_No. He's my brother, I have to take responsibility for this." Ichigo found himself staring into deep red pools of sadness, fear, and anger._

"_Don't go. Soul Society is too strong. Don't let yourself be taken away from me." The usually short tempered, angry espada was begging him not to go on this mission that seemed like a death wish. Ichigo grasped her hands in his and stared deep into her eyes._

"_I'll make it back to you. I promise. Here, take this," he said, removing a bracelet from around his wrist. "Keep it safe for me. Know that I'll come back to get it." It was something that he treasured greatly. It had been a family air loom from back when he was living. The woman hesitated before slowly taking the precious bracelet from her love. "I must go now, but I will return. I'll come back to you, my Orihime..."_

Ichigo jolted awake. His promise. It was one that he was not intent on breaking. He glanced around his room. Yes, that was right. "Lord" Aizen had granted him stay as a guest. Judging by the quality on his accommodations Ichigo was certain that the king of this Hueco Mundo (which he called skinless and barren) was most certainly planning on using him to his advantage. Perhaps it had something to do with his "Substitue shinigami" alter ego?

The black-haired boy, resembling that of a teenager, clenched his fist, trying to figure out how much of his power he'd gotten back. Not much. He'd have to say that he was probably at the level of the seventh espada right now. He froze upon hearing the sound of feet.

The door opened and Kurosaki glanced at it, seeing blue hair. Grimmjow. "Hey, you up?" the obnoxious espada asked. It was so odd to see him as an arrancar. He had only dreampt of such a thing happening, now here he was, in a different dimension, his brother an espada.

"Yep, I awoke in this creatively decorated room." The sarcasm was clear. Obviously pure white was not much of a decoration, but it was, apparently, the theme Aizen had going. Ichigo was beginning to think that it was some sort of torture method to make people go crazy and do anything to escape from this desolate place.

"Aizen's a genius when it comes to décor, isn't he?" It was a rhetorical question, but the black-haired king couldn't help but nod his agreement. Grimmjow entered the room completely. He closed the door and leaned against the a wall, just staring Ichigo for a few moments, as if he were examining him, before he began to speak again. "What do you eat?" he asked. Perhaps he had been trying to figure that out before...?

"Bread, noodles, souls, cookies, hollows, the usual."

Grimmjow nodded in response. "'Right then, Aizen told me to take you to the cafeteria if you didn't eat anything out of the ordinary."

"Fine with me."

Ichigo swiftly hopped out of his bed from his back, landing on his feet. He slipped on his red Getas before following the sexta out of the his room. They walked down many hallways, all of which turned the way Ichigo expected them to. It was just like his castle, yet not at the same time.

It was only a few minutes before the two arrived in front of two rather large doors. Must be for the bigger arrancar. Either that or for effect... Someone, who Ichigo could only guess was the fifth espada judging by his reiatsu, came strolling over to them. Was that... Nnoitra?

"Hey Grimmjow, whatcha doin' with that stranger?" the person asked.

"None of your business." Grimmjow opened the doors to the cafeteria and began to walk, being followed by the person who Ichigo was fairly certain was Nnoitra. They picked up some food, the fifth espada still bugging Grimmjow. With the two powerful espada, almost no one blocked their path. The only people who didn't move were either daft, or a higher rank. They moved to a table where Yammy was sitting.

Ichigo sat down, speculating the other's interaction, purely curious... and maybe scheming a bit as well. "That Kurosaki?" Yammy asked, confusion was more detectable in his voice than anger.

"Sorta," Grimmjow replied. "He's a hollow or something. Came through a garganta from a different dimension."

"You tell him, but not me?" Nnoitra scowled. Grimmjow ignored him and began to eat his food.

"So, Ichigo- Your name is Ichigo, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

"Alright then, what was this dimension you came from like?"

"Definitely different from here. The people, for one thing, are all backwards. Aizen was a wimpy shinigami in the fourth division, Gin was the seventh espada, and Grimmjow... Grimmjow was a whole different person."

"What do you mean 'a whole different person'? What was I like?" The blue-haired espada was curious on what he was like in a different dimension.

"Well..." Ichigo began, "Like I said when we were battling, you went with the shinigami and I ended up with the hollows. You didn't like to fight at all. Actually, I think that you were in the fourth division with Aizen and that's how you knew each other. Over time we ended up being in a battle against each other and that's when you started learning how to fight more."

"That's just sick." Grimmjow seemed to be disgusted by the idea of someone who was him in a different dimension running around and trying to heal people, not wanting to fight.

The rest of the meal went on with other questions, but nothing more of great importance was revealed. Ichigo was too busy thinking about his dream. He wondered who Orihime was here, but was too afraid to ask. She wouldn't be his Orihime. No one could ever replace his goddess. The dark haired Ichigo was afraid that if he stayed in this dimension much longer, he might get used to it and not want to return home, or that everything would be different and he'd always feel like he was missing something. It would be best to leave as soon as possible.

**B.G.**

That evening, when Ichigo sat in his room, he received another message through the transmitter that was his arm. "_../-.-./.../../-./-/.../.-/-/.-|.-/..././.-./.|.-/.-./.|-.-/-/..-|" (Ichigo-sama, where are you?). _Though he was able to receive the messages, he was unable to send any back, his transmitter having been broken in his fight with his brother. Everything was so strange. From falling through a garganta into another dimension, to fighting his brother who wasn't really his brother and then all the way to lounging on a crisp white bed inside a castle that he himself should run, receiving messages from the one he promised to return to.

Ichigo hopped up and went out into the hallway, wanting to free himself from his dreadful thoughts. He walked around the dark castle, noting the differences along with the similarities. Turning around one corner after the other, hoping to loose himself for just an hour or two. One of the winding corridors led to Grimmjow leaning in the shadows, watching lesser arrancars walk by. He glanced over at Ichigo, uncertainty in his eyes.

"What do you want?" he asked, not moving from his place against the wall.

"To talk" Ichigo replied, having not even know what he was going to say before he said it.

"That so?" Grimmjow still seemed uncertain and Ichigo wasn't completely sure why.

"Yeah, if that's alright with you."

"Tch, whatever." Irritable as he seemed to be, Ichigo was still glad that he could spend time with Grimmjow, even if he wasn't his brother here.

He sat down on the floor next to the blue-haired espada and simply sat in silence for a while.

Grimmjow was the one who broke the silence, "How did you come to be the ruler of Hueco Mundo in your world?" he asked with poorly concealed interest.

Ichigo's eyes closed. "It's a long story," he said. The silence stretched on for a bit longer and the black-haired king decided that it couldn't hurt to tell. "Well, it all started when you were taken to Soul Society. I had hidden when the Shinigami had come and had watched as they destroyed hollows and then took the hilt of their sword and placed it in the center of your forehead. You faded away and they disappeared and I was left alone. Though I was dreadfully confused, I somehow managed to survive on my own for a while before the guilt of not protecting you overcame me and I was turned into a hollow. I moved up in ranks until I became a vasta lordes. It was when I visited the human world once more that I saw you. You had become a 4th squad shinigami and because your friends that you had with you that day, we ended up fighting.

"I hadn't wanted to fight and I don't believe you had either, but the other shinigami were trying to murder a defenseless hollow and I couldn't stand for it," intense emotions shone in Ichigo's eyes. "I had to protect her, it was my duty being more powerful than she was at the time. Then you had to jump in... None of us won the battle because I had to take the injured hollow back into the safety of our world, but it was that very fight that began our fights and rivalry that have been going since then.

"Over time we ended up fighting more and more frequently, as you were training to get better. Still, our spars were always interrupted and never did a victor come out on top. One day, a man whom I called Aizen-kun, accidentally created a device with power beyond anything else. It was the hoguyoku. I knew that that device could mean the destruction of hollow kind and snuck into Soul Society and tried to steal it. It was that day, the day when I killed Neliel, that you lost all trust in me. However, not wanting the device to cause any trouble, I tried to get rid of it, applying my own spirit pressure to destroy it. I even put it inside my hollow hole, the place of the most intense spirit pressure, but my plan backfired and instead of destroying the weapon, I fused my body with it, turning myself into an Arrancar.

"I found that I was able to turn others into a lesser version of what I had become and did so with some of my companions. The other hollows began to follow me and soon I was known as the most powerful creature in all of Hueco Mundo. Naturally, after that I became king."

Silence followed as Grimmjow took in all the information he had just been given. "So, are you ranked as an espada?"

Ichigo pulled up his sleeve to display a zero on his upper arm. "This," he said, "is a disguise I made." Focusing, the zero began to change. It stretched outward, then pinched in the center before it finished changing. "I am the infinity espada."

**Hm... Well, that's the next chapter. I hope you liked it. I had time to finish it because my school is nice enough to give me a week off for my birthday (because it happens to fall on Thanksgiving). Thank you school! Thank you readers! You guys are amazing! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it)!**

**-KoiPondOfPeace**

**P.S. I got to see an actual Koi Pond the other day, it was amazing. :D**


	4. Chapter 4: Relinquishing Control

**Hey guys! This chapter was typed up from ten to twelve at night! Why did I suddenly type up the whole chapter when I have to get up early tomorrow? Well, because I got this review from _princessofd_ and it was really nice. Then I realized that I hadn't updated in forever and this chapter is long past due. So, here it is. I hope that you enjoy my efforts because they lost me sleep! **

**Thank you to _aznphoenix95_,_ TanithLipsky_, _, Kichi93_, and_ princessofd_!**

**Without further ado, **

**Chapter 4: Relinquishing Control**

I remember when I used to hear the chimes of her laughter. When we used to go down to the river separating the different divisions and wade in the waters. I remember how she used to splash me and play as if we were children. Then I remember the levelheadedness of her when we sat upon that hill that overlooked everything...

Everything that there was...

We'd talk and the conversations that we'd have were unlike any other.

I told her of you, brother. Of what happened. How you sat and watched; how I told you to run. She told me of her life as well. But that was in the past. We were dead and you were gone. Somewhere that I couldn't reach you. Everyday I searched the regions. I looked and looked, but never could I find you. Time began to pass in its slowed down state. We became best friends, siblings. She was there for me, and I for her. That was how it was until I met you once again...

I never did understand why you wanted to hurt me. We had been such good friends in life. Yet, you took her, my only friend. You murdered her before my eyes and became powerful; Unsurpacable. Couldn't it have been me that you killed instead? Couldn't it have been me in your path that day?

But you were one of them now. A heartless, hollowed out, broken soul. Never again would we be brothers. You were dead and you weren't coming back. I realized that and that, dear Ichigo, is why I did I had to do.

**B.G.**

"He just sits there, staring at the wall. I don't think he's sane..."

Orihime glared at the blue-haired shinigami sitting inside a red and black holding cell. "I can't believe that he's Ichigo-sama's brother," she growled. She went to the door. "He has to know something about where Ichigo has disappeared to. Before he left, he told me that he was going to get his brother and that he'd be back. Grimmjow must have done something!" She yanked the door opened and slammed it behind her, red eyes glowing.

Grimmjow looked up at the espada standing in front of him. Orange hair, red eyes, long canines, ruby necklace, black tights, leather boots, red corset, and a black mini-skirt... "'Ello Orihime, how's Ichigo been lately? He hasn't cared to drop by and say hi to his younger brother yet, how impolite." Grimmjow smirked to himself.

"I know that you did something to him. Where is my husband?" The espada was tapping her foot impatiently.

"Husband, ey? I had no clue that he's made such great accomplishments in his afterlife. Killing my sister, getting more power than he needs, marrying a hollow... You think he would have rubbed this is my face before now. Normally he does whenever he accomplishes making my life miserable."

"Grimm, don't think that I don't know what you did."

"Oh, but you don't." The shinigami, a few months ago, was nothing like he was now. Death and betrayal had changed him for the worse.

"I know that you did something with him."

"Hm? And what would you do if I said I killed him?"

Red eyes widened, but then relaxed again. "You couldn't have. You are not strong enough to kill Ichigo." She said it with such certainty.

"Am I not? Even with the help of a good scientist friend of mine...?"

"I'll give you one last chance." Orihime stepped closer to the blue-head. She pushed him against the wall, charging a cero in the hand that she held against his chest. "Where. Is. My husband?"

Grimmjow, despite the burnt hole appearing in his clothes, simply shrugged. "Do it, put me out of my misery. I've already died in this death."

Temptation flashed in amber orbs, but hesitation took its place.

Grimmjow looked hopefully up at Orihime. "'Hime-san, please. Just do it." Innocence shown in those light eyes of his and the espada hissed in dislike.

"Pathetic!" she spat, turning away from her captive. "Only the weak beg for death." With that she turned and walked out of the room, leaving the broken shinigami to lean against the wall and reminisce in the past once more.

**B.G. (Our World)**

Preparations had been made for the trip to Hueco Mundo. Ichigo was really beginning to worry. Urahara's theory seemed to be checking out. Whenever he was tired, Ichigo found his control slipping to the hollow that resided within him. It had been a rough last couple of days, but finally they would be going and he would be able to get this sorted out.

_**You're never going to find it, Ichi~**, _the hollow sang from inside his soul.

Ichigo found himself able to hear him loud and clear once again. _Shut up, we will find the Hogyoku and once we do, you'll be trapped back where you belong. _

_**Hm... I wonder if you'll have any control when I'm in charge. Like, I wonder if you'll be able to do this. **_Ichigo's hand twitched. He stared at it. **_Wait for it... _**Then it tightened into a fist. This was not at all good.

Not knowing what else to do, Ichigo decided it would be best to ignore the hollow. _Soon_, he told himself, _this will all be over._ Walking across the room, the substitute shinigami went to get his backpack that was sitting on his bed, only to trip on air. He fell to the floor and heard cackling in his head.

_**Definitely will be over soon, King. Soon, because I'll be in charge and calling you Horse. **_

Groaning, Ichigo tried to stand, but found himself unable to use his right hand. He could feel it, it just wouldn't move to his mind's commands. Pushing himself up with his left hand, Ichigo rolled onto his back. Why wouldn't the hollow just leave him alone? It was going to be very difficult getting to Urahara's in one piece. _Hollow-_

_**Shiro, remember? Means white, cause you're name means black.**_

Ichigo sighed, not wanting to give it a name, seeing as it often said it didn't have a name. _Fine, Shiro, let me get to Urahara's._

_**Now why would I do that? The longer you lay here, the closer I get to becoming king.**_

It was quite obvious that Shiro had absolutely no reason to help Ichigo, nor did he feel inclined to do so. Struggling, the orange-haired teen managed to get to his feet and carefully make his way across the room, now dragging his right foot. Of course he'd be losing his dominant side first.

The trip to Urahara's left Ichigo scratched, bruised, and beaten by an old women (for accidentally tripping into her). He did, however, make it there and Shiro laid off for some reason that left Ichigo with an unnerving feeling. Nothing that made the hollow stop sabotaging Ichigo's life could be good.

"Ichigo, I see you made it," Urahara said, with a look that showed he might know more than he was leading onto. "We can finally get going."

Rukia, Renji, Matsomoto, Orihime, Chad, Toshiro and Uryuu were standing in front of a rather large gate. Ichigo dropped off his backpack and joined them.

"I assume you brought everything I asked for?" the shopkeeper asked Ichigo.

"Yeah, it's in the bag."

"Good." He then jumped up the the top of the gate. "Remember to keep together, be safe, and bring the hogyoku right back here. If anything suspicious is going on, try not to get involved. Everyone ready?"

"How much more vague can you be?" Uryuu muttered under his breath. Others murmured of their preparation. The garganta opened and they ran through.

Ichigo was just as bad as always, if not worse, at using the spirit particles to make a pathway. Rukia ran in the front with Renji by her side. They created a perfect path together, while Ishida floated on his own lift.

Finally, thoughts of his hollow, escaped Ichigo's mind. He was feeling good about this. Somehow everything was going to work out. They'd find the hogyoku, bring it back to Sandal-Hat and he'd get it back to it's dimension. Then Ichigo could go back to his normal life and this would just be a memory of the past.

Finally, the desert was in site. They were almost there. Closer and closer... Taking one last leap, Ichigo followed the others into the sands of Hueco Mundo. As soon as he landed on the blanketing, soft, desert sands, his mind slipped out of him control and suddenly he was thrust into a world of sideways buildings and gray skies.

"What?" he asked the air. Looking down, Ichigo saw the window under his feet showed the outside world. Shiro was in control of his body and his friends were nowhere in sight.

**I hope you guys liked it. Reviews are appreciated! Tell me what you thought of the beginning half especially, I want to see if you guys would like to see more things like that. Well, 12:11, I'll have to be retiring now. So, please review. **

**-KoiPondOfPeace**


	5. Chapter 5: Friends

**Hey, did I mention that I watch the anime of _Bleach _because I'm too lazy to buy the manga and whatnot? Well, I do, and I just found out something from the actual story that was rather like my story... Well, I don't wanna spoil, just thought it was interesting!**

**Thank you very much to _Arnob _for reviewing! I tried to not monopolize the whole thing with cliffhangers this time, I hope you like it. :)**

**Here's the next chapter!**

**Chapter 5: Friends**

Finally he was free. Shiro knew exactly where he wanted to go. He sonidoed across the sands to a familiar building. It was smaller than the giant palace of Los Noches. Approaching it, Shiro had sensed him there. His reiatsu was strong, and Shiro had to mask his own to keep him from detecting him.

The hollow felt the coolness of the door beneath the palm of his hand. He pushed the door open, and there he was...

**B.G.**

"Ichigo!" Orihime called out to the huge wasteland of endless sand.

"Has anyone seen him? Did anyone see him make it through the garganta?" Rukia asked those around her.

Renji scratched his head and Uryuu scanned the desert sands in silence.

"I saw him," Matsomoto said suddenly.

"Where?" Everyone turned, giving her their attention.

"At least I think I did... He was in front of me and I saw him jump, but then when I landed, he was gone."

"Do you think... maybe... it's because he's..." Orihime whispered, not wanting to continue her sentence out loud.

Renji did it for her. "Becoming an arrancar? Maybe, but let's not jump to any conclusions. He could have just landed somewhere different than us."

Some of the members in the group began to nod, hoping that it was so, but Toshiro simply crossed his arms and pursed his lips.

"We know that the disturbance was effecting Ichigo. What if bringing him closer to it only sped up the process?"

"That would make sense. There's no longer the boundary of a world between him and the hogyoku," Renji agreed.

"Then... that would mean that... What would that mean? Why would he have disappeared?" Orihime asked, feeling lost in the midst of the conversation.

Toshiro and the others simply ignored her ignorance and looked at each other, worry evident in their eyes. "We'd better find him," the icy captain stated. They nodded and headed out, splitting up and searching for traces of their dear friend, Ichigo Kurosaki.

**B.G.**

Grimmjow was practicing his battle skills. Kurosaki's nighttime talk had brought nothing but determination into the cat-like arrancar. He would become strong. If he was the opposite of the Grimmjow from Ichigo's dimension, then he should be _stronger_. Blasting another cero through the wall, the sexta tried to use his frustration to further benefit his training.

After having practiced for hours on end, he sensed a familiar reiatsu. Was Ichigo coming to join in on the training? Was Aizen sending him over? Straightening up, Grimmjow watched as the doors to the training center opened and a dark form of Ichigo was emitted, but not at all the one he was expecting.

"I thought something was off. What brings you back to the world of the hollows, Shirosaki?" Grimmjow asked, a smirk dancing upon his lips.

"King came without influence, li'l did he know that I have an agenda of my own." The hollow matched the espada's smirk with full force.

"Well then, you've come to the right place." Grimmjow, in the course of his many battles with the orange-haired substitute shingami, had met his hollow counterpart and found him to be quite the training partner. Before Ichigo had toughened up the way he had and locked his hollow away, they battle. Eventually their nighttime brawls had led what could only be called a "friendship" between the two of them.

"What do ya know about the hogyoku that's 'ere?" Shiro asked, treading closer to the blue-haired espada.

"That some Shinigami chick originally had it, something about a guy wearing clogs and a hat creating it and then Aizen stealing it...? You didn't think that I actually paid attention when Aizen went on about his triumphs, did you?"

"Not that one, the other one. The second one." Now the two were standing, facing one another. To an outsider it may appear that they were just having a friendly chat, but anyone who knew Grimmjow would think that it couldn't be such.

"Oh, that one. You know about the other Ichigo?"

"Other... king?"

"Ha, yeah. 'Came through a garganta from another dimension and everything."

"'Haven't heard about him. Figures Ichigo would be a bakka enough to come not even knowing why he was turning into a hollow." Shiro tutted at the other half of his body's stupidity.

"Well, that's Ichigo for you." Grimmjow rolled his eyes, irritated by the thought of the dominance and pride written across the teen's face. _Those damn eyes... _

"So, there's another Ich?" the hollow asked, bringing matters back to that which interested him, not being sure how long he'd have in control of/their his body.

"Yeah," Grimmjow replied, sitting down on the sandy ground of the training room, Shiro following in suit. "Like I said, he came crashing through this garganta. 'Says he's the king of the hollows in his dimension and that he's the infinity espada or something like that."

"Does he now? That most certain is interesting..." The pale, albino-like hollow looked down at his chest where the infinity mark resided. Grimmjow, who had failed to notice it previously, looked with cat-like curiosity at it.

"Why's it black and white like that?" he asked, cocking his head to one side.

"'Don't know. But if this hollow king Ichi is, well, a hollow, then I think things are looking in my favor." A smirk lit the hollow's features.

**B.G.**

"Damn," Ichigo cursed, "how does that hollow always get outta here?" He glanced around in the never-ending sideways world. Skyscraper after skyscraper reached, slanted, towards the gray skies. The threat of rain was detectable with the scent of precipitation in the air.

Creeping along the buildings of his inner world, the substitute shinigami tried to find a way out. It was not often that he was thrust into his inner world without a battle being at fault. And so, he was unaware of how to escape his own soul's imprisonment.

"Ichigo," a bellowing voice called out, seeming to come from everywhere yet no one at once.

"Zangetsu!" the orange-haired teen replied, searching for the source of the sound. "Where are you, old man?"

"Open your eyes, Ichigo. Can you not see me, who is right in front of you?"

Ichigo squinted, upon hearing this. Sure enough, a blurry black blob appeared in the distance. He could barely see the zanpakuto.

"Pity. It seems you've lost sight of the things you fight for. I cannot help someone who is unable to do basic things, such as see." The form was slowly disappearing.

"Wait! Zangetsu!" Ichigo ran after it, but still the black blob grew smaller and smaller. "Oy, old man! Come back!" The speck disappeared completely from view and Ichigo sunk onto his knees on one of the many glass windows, panting. He collapsed, head resting against the cold surface of the window. Usually he understood his zanpakuto's cryptic way of thinking, but this time it had stumped him. It seemed simple enough, but Ichigo knew what he wanted to protect. The things he held most dear to him were his friends, his family, his classmates...

Honey-brown eyes widened at a thought. What if his hollow was torturing his friends? What if, for some reason, they thought it was him and they were being tricked and hurt and possibly even killed? But no. When he had first landed in this sideways world that was his soul, he had seen the hollow running across the sandy wastelands of Hueco Mundo. His friends had been nowhere in sight. They were most likely safe... Right? But then where had that annoying creature gone off to? Ichigo shuttered at the thought of what he could be doing right now. For all he knew, the hollow had gone to get a snack, and knowing hollow's cannibalistic ways...

Right. He needed to stop thinking about the white-haired parasite and start trying to figure out why Zangestu left without even trying to help him. Ichigo reflected on what the sword had said to him. What had Zangetsu mean by saying that he was blind; That he lost sight of what he fought for? The teen wanted to fight for his friends, he wanted to fight for Soul Society, but he couldn't if he was trapped in his own soul.

Glowering at the rainy skies, Ichigo wished it would just rain already. Closing his eyes, he welcomed the rain, but it would not come. He laid on the cold glass, simply waiting for that which would never come. He was trapped in-between. The sun would not shine, being hidden behind the clouds, but the rain could not fall, for when it tried, the sun would shine bright enough to evaporate it and bring it back to its vaporized state.

Ichigo simply laid there for what felt like eternity, thinking of nothing in particular. He wondered if his hollow ever did this; if he ever simply waited for something to happen, but was unaware of what. Sound seemed to come to Ichigo's ears and he wondered if he was now hearing things. Sitting up, nonetheless, he searched for the source of the sound. Surprisingly enough, the substitute shinigami's back was not sore, as it would have been in the human world.

It didn't take long to locate where the sound was coming from. It was one of the many windows in the desolate place. Peering into it, Ichigo saw through the eyes of his hollow. He seemed to be in some sort of room, sitting on a bed. A frown found itself on the shinigami's lips. What could that mean? Surely, his hollow wouldn't join Aizen? The white room begged to differ.

Ichigo watched as the door to the room opened and none other than Grimmjow Jaegerjaques stepped through. He stared as his hollow chatted with his enemy. What was this? Some kind of nightmare? He had to resist the sudden urge to pinch his arm to ensure himself that he was, indeed, awake. Grimmjow sat down on one of the chairs and said something about a black-haired Ichigo? What...?

Leaning closer and closer, to hear what the two were saying, Ichigo's hand slipped and he fell face first into the window and through it. The world that he had been seeing just a second ago came crashing into view through his own eyes, while the sideways buildings faded away into a nothingness. Grimmjow was staring, eyes somewhat wide, and Ichigo noticed that he was doing the same.

"Kursosaki."

**And there it is! You have no idea how hard it was to write this chapter. I hope that the charies are, well, in character. I have a gazillion other stories to update on different accounts, but I took the time to update this one just for you guys. How nice of me :D. **

**Tell me what you think, review please. I am most curious, and any thoughts, opinions, questions, constructive criticism, advice, etc. would be appreciated!**

**See ya!**

**-KoiPondOfPeace**


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